U.S. Response to the Crisis in Iran

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In The Media

U.S. Response to the Crisis in Iran

Violence in the aftermath of Iran’s election has raised questions about the future of the regime, and about the way the Obama administration should respond to this controversial situation.

By Robert Kagan, David Ignatius, David Sanger, David Brooks

Published on Jun 19, 2009

Source: Charlie Rose

With widespread mass protests and escalating violence following the contested Iranian election, many experts are questioning the future of the regime. Meanwhile, critics have accused the Obama Administration of taking an overly passive stance, failing to use its influence to discourage the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown.

Carnegie’s Robert Kagan joined David Ignatius, David Sanger, and David Brooks to discuss the U.S. role in the situation. Kagan highlighted the fact that the Obama administration is at a transition point, where it may have to rethink its commitment to negotiations and its acceptance of the legitimacy of the Iranian regime. At this point, he said, Obama should do whatever he can to try to prevent the regime from using mass violence—before it’s too late. Obama should use his international popularity as a tool and should try to rally other world leaders to join him in condemning the use of mass violence by the Iranian regime.

About the Authors

Robert Kagan

Former Senior Associate

Kagan, author of the recent book, The Return of History and the End of Dreams (Knopf 2008), writes a monthly column on world affairs for the Washington Post and is a contributing editor at both the Weekly Standard and the New Republic.

David Ignatius

David Sanger

David E. Sanger is the national security correspondent for the New York Times and a senior writer for the paper.

David Brooks

Political Reform Foreign Policy North America United States Middle East Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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